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Topeka sperm donor honors twins with tattoo

Published on NewsOK
Modified: April 27, 2013 at 10:16 am •
Published: April 27, 2013

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court five years ago sided with the Kansas high court that Topekan Daryl Hendrix couldn't be a part of the lives of two children conceived by artificial insemination using his sperm.

But The Topeka Capital-Journal (http://bit.ly/ZIjWVt ) reports that Hendrix said every day he thinks of the two children — twins, a boy, identified in court records only as K.C.H., and a girl, identified as K.M.H.

"I haven't seen them since the day after they were born," Hendrix said. "Holidays are terrible for me and my family. It's been a roller-coaster ride."

And with recent stories in the media about sperm donor William Marotta, Hendrix thinks about the twins even more. Last week, he had the twins' names and birth date — May 18, 2005 — tattooed on his arm at Fine Line Tattoo.

Marotta, of Topeka, donated sperm in a plastic cup to a Topeka lesbian couple after responding to their ad on Craigslist. The couple, Topekans Angela Bauer and Jennifer Schreiner, and Marotta signed an agreement saying Marotta wouldn't have parental rights.

Marotta doesn't want to be a father. The state of Kansas wants him to step up.

The Marotta case is "irritating," Hendrix said.

"It's making Kansas look very stupid," he said.

In Hendrix's case, he said he had every intention of being a part of the twins' lives.

Hendrix, who was 45 at the time, and Samantha Harrington, who was 32, had been friends for about 10 years when they discussed Hendrix being a sperm donor. In September 2004, Hendrix provided sperm and Harrington was inseminated in Kansas City, Mo., by a licensed physician.

The pair agreed that Hendrix would have a part in raising the children, Hendrix said previously. The Capital-Journal's telephone calls to Harrington weren't returned.